In
Gallo-Roman religion, Bricta or Brixta was a
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
ish
goddess who was a consort of
Luxovius, god of the waters of
Luxeuil-les-Bains
Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
History
Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings a ...
(in antiquity, ''Luxovium'').
Inscriptions
Bricta is recorded in the following inscriptions from Luxeuil-les-Bains :
:''
usoio / et Brictae / Divixti/us Cons/tans / v(otum) s(olvit)
(ibens) m(erito)''
:"To Lusso(v)ios and Bricta, Divixtius Constans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow." (CIL 13, 05425)
:''Luxovio / et Brixtae / G(aius) Iul(ius) Fir/manus / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)''
:"To Luxovios and Brixta, Gaius Julius Firmans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow."
(AE 1951, 00231; CIL 13, 05426)
Etymology
This Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...
is derived from the word ''brixtom'' or ''brixta'' meaning magic. The word also appears on the inscription of Chamalières. (Delamarre pp. 76–77 with references and comparative etymology)
References
*''Année Epigraphique''; volume 1951.
* Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), volume 13, ''Tres Galliae.''
* Delamarre, X. (2003). ''Dictionnaire de la Langue Gauloise.'' 2nd edition. Paris, Editions Errance.
Gaulish goddesses
Water goddesses
{{celt-myth-stub